This is short. It is sort of important plotwise, but all the same, I'm sorry. I just haven't had the inspiration to write lately and I figure the one thing worse than slow updates are bad ones. Quality over quantity is usually my policy for writing. Also, I've been reading stuff, specifically The Leaf's Naruto. You should go do that. It's in my favorites.
I feel like I've been dawdling a bit story-wise, maybe not moving it along quickly enough. I don't want to rush, or anything, but considering how much my updates have slowed down, I feel like I should be putting more into what I put out. Tell me what you think; pros and cons of the helpful sort are always welcome! Have fun.
EDIT: IT's NOT AS SHORT NOW! YAY! I decided to add tis on to the end of this chapter, mostly because it didn't feel right at the beginning of chapter 8 (which is being worked on, don't worry). Enjoy.
Chapter 7
Shadows
The Master looked out over his domain. Beautiful fields and swaying forests under a bright sun greeted his eyes as though masterfully painted for his own enjoyment. The breeze was soft, but refreshing, and it carried the scent of lavender. He could feel the life he had brought to this place and on any other day, it would have made him smile. On any other morning, his mood would be carefree, secure in the knowledge that there was nobody to threaten his domain.
But this morning was different and when Haral ran through the door looking terrified, it was no secret why. "You felt it too, child." It wasn't a question.
"How would I not feel that? It was terrifying." The Master turned a burning stare upon his ward and for a second, Haral was petrified. But the master was not truly angry; the disrespectful tone had not been intentional. The boy was simply not in control of himself.
"You are right to be afraid. That was no simple disturbance. I have not felt so powerful a spark as this since my own joining." Haral's eyes widened. "Do you plan to sever the bond?" The Master noticed the humbled tone in his ward's voice. 'Good.'
"No. I will study the problem first. So powerful an enemy could also become a very useful ally. These situations must be handled delicately." He turned to regard the boy. "Your talents are ideal for such a task. I will entrust this matter to you."
Haral was visibly surprised, but quickly bowed, muttering thanks and groveling just the smallest bit. Without another word, he turned and walked back through the tower's wooden door. The Master smiled. 'He is getting better.' All that morning the door had not been opened once.
Ap qA
Hiccup had decided over the course of that day's training session that Astrid must really truly hate him. She'd been muttering non-stop since he, Fishlegs and her had been assigned to the same team. 'No one, not even the most irritable person alive, has that much to gripe about.' When he'd asked Gobber what in the darkest pits of Hel he was thinking putting them on the same team, Gobber had chuckled, said something about believing in "on the job training" then walked off, clearly very pleased with himself. Hiccup hadn't known whether to be annoyed or confused.
The clearing the giant amputee had led them to was big enough to fit all four of them with a decent amount of room to spare. The forest floor was littered with leaves and pine needles and almost devoid of rocks. It was ringed with Log benches and relatively well shaded by the surrounding trees. Sighing contentedly, Gobber walked to the clearing's center and inhaled the crisp, mid-fall air. "Aaah, it's good to be back." Gobber sat there looking more content than Hiccup had ever seen him. After a moment, Gobber nodded and turned to address his new pupils.
"Well, I'm not gonna sugar-coat it: this is one of the worst groups ah've seen in all my time as an instructor. Astrid is okay, but you two," he turned sharply on Fishlegs and Hiccup. "You two are terrible." Fishlegs managed, somehow, to look even more dejected. Hiccup turned a glare on the large blacksmith. 'What is he playing at?'
"Now, that being said, I do think you all have potential. Yeh just haven't brought it to the surface yet." Hiccup raised a disbelieving eyebrow; Gobber had spent the last few years as well as the beginning of this speech telling him he had no place in a fight only to change his tune at this moment. He was reminded suddenly of Gobber's earlier comment about learning from experience. Alarms started going off in his mind.
"Now, some other teachers might waste weeks puttin' yeh through yer paces and building up muscle in order to force you into a mold yeh don't naturally fit. I am not those teachers. I believe in learning through experience!" He rounded once again on Hiccup. "So, Hiccup, you and Astrid are gonna fight until one of yeh yields or is unconscious. Go!"
Hiccup's eyes widened at the sudden pronouncement. He had barely a second to stand before Astrid was barreling into him, fists first. The breath was knocked from his lungs as he landed on the dirt ground. Astrid wasted no time, getting on top of Hiccup and holding him down. For a second, it looked like the fight was going to be very, very short.
But as Astrid drew back a fist to punch Hiccup into unconsciousness, something inside of him decided to take matters into its own hands. He felt it like liquid icy fire in his mind: instinctive and single-minded. With a feral growl, he caught grabbed the prepared fist and the opposite arm's shoulder armor. Giving a mighty heave, he threw her off to the side and pinned her down instead, effectively turning the tables on his blonde teammate. With a feral growl, he pulled back a fist, not noticing Astrid's shocked expression or the sound of heavy footsteps behind him. It was only when a metal hook restrained him that he realized Gobber had come up behind him.
"Alright, tha's enough." For a moment Hiccup felt the strange urge to punch Gobber in the face, but with the sudden distraction from his opponent, his mind regained itself. He nodded shakily to his teacher and stood up only to feel suddenly woozy. With a muttered apology, he ran to the nearest bush and threw up.
Ap qA
Gobber's mood had taken an abrupt downward turn after that first spar. He had set Astrid to fight Fishlegs and she had trounced the boy rather easily, but Gobber assured him that all he needed was some work on his technique and his natural size would be enough to win him some fights. They had spent the rest of their time doing just what Gobber had said they wouldn't be doing: physical conditioning. They did sit-ups, squats and several variations on the push-up, most of which none of them had even heard of before. Not one of them came out of it without some sort of muscle-ache and the walk back to the village seamed much longer and more arduous than the stroll they'd taken out to the clearing that morning.
Hiccup had spent most of that time at least peripherally wondering just what the Hel had happened during his fight. For one thing, he had no idea how he of all people could have over-powered Astrid. Even worse, the whole episode was blurry in his mind, as though he couldn't keep up with the memories. It was strange and he didn't like it. Not for the first time, he wondered just what had happened the night his wounds had healed.
And that of course brought him back to the dragon. He still didn't know how to feel about that whole mess. In Hiccup's mind, the whole situation has been resolved with the thing flying off into the sunset, but if Bellur was right, that wasn't a possible outcome anymore. The Night Fury would never again fly on its own and he couldn't just let it go free as it was. Hiccup knew as well as any Viking that a downed dragon was a dead dragon. There had to be some way to help it; he couldn't just keep it in the cove forever.
He remembered suddenly the last trading fleet to pass through town. Their sails had been strangely shaped, almost like a fin; specifically the fins on the Night Fury's tail… And suddenly, Hiccup knew what he had to do.
Ap qA
Bellur was noticeably less nervous around the Night Fury his second time, relaxed even. His movements were slow and deliberate as he applied salves to the creature's wounds, murmuring as he went. Hiccup wondered idly why his bedside manner only seemed to extend to animals, but mostly, he focused on studying the structure of the tail fin. He needed to get all the details right for this to work.
'The middle three fins get slightly longer as they go up the tail.' He moved to make alterations to his sketch, eyes narrowed in concentration.
Meanwhile, Bellur had finished with his treatments. His patient gave him a small lick and trotted over to Hiccup. Soundlessly, he nudged the boy's shoulder and looked inquisitively at the sketch. Its eyes narrowed and it turned to regard its tail fin before looking back at the drawing. It thought for a second, before casting around, looking for something. A few seconds later, it rushed over to a large branch and started dragging it through the sediment, seemingly without structure. When he was finished, he picked his way back through the lines and looked expectantly at his visitors.
Bellur looked quizzically at the design, clearly not understanding what it was supposed to be. Hiccup was in a similar position, but something at the back of his mind told him he was missing a blatantly obvious detail. Without a thought, he started walking around the design, looking for some sort of pattern. About half way around, he saw it, and in that moment, Hiccup realized this dragon could not be an animal. The design was impossible to see from any other direction, mostly because of the messy lines, but from this specific vantage point, it was clearly discernable. "Bellur, you need to see this." The tall boy raised an eyebrow and started walking around the drawing, wondering just what his friend had seen that could shock him this much. Then he saw it too and stopped dead in his tracks.
The Dragon had drawn Hiccup. It walked over to the two friends and turned a questioning look on him as though to ask what he thought of the work. For the second time in as many minutes, Hiccup acted without really knowing why, reaching out and touching the dragon on his nose. He felt a sudden tug, as though his mind were being pulled out of him and his body went rigid. His eyes widened as his mind was flooded with images and hen he and the dragon collapsed, for all intents and purposes, dead to the world.
Ap qA
Bellur was worried. When Hiccup and the dragon had passed out, he had tried to carry his friend back to the village. He quickly realized that even though Hiccup looked ridiculously skinny, he wouldn't be able to carry the kid back home. With that in mind, he'd been forced to wait around and guard the two for all his presence was worth. After the first hour of waiting, he'd decided to settle I for the long haul. It was starting to get dark by the time they both came to.
Hiccup's eyes fluttered open accompanied by a loud groan. He cradled his head as he sat up, muttering obscenities and trying to massage a headache away. He turned apologetically to his older friend and grinned nervously. "So… How long was I out this time?" Bellur's eyes remained narrowed. "About two hours. Now what the fuck happened?" Hiccup seemed taken aback by his friend's serious mood. "Well… I'm not really sure. Even he didn't know." He looked strangely at the dragon, clearly confused, but also strangely understanding.
"All I really know is that he just explained a lot of stuff to me and it's taking a while to get straight in my head." Bellur raised an eyebrow. "Explained?" Hiccup's face scrunched up in concentration, trying to order his thoughts. "It wasn't so much an explanation as… a transfer? It was like he just poured his memories into my brain. I think I did the same to him. It's… hard to explain."
Bellur walked over to his friend and helped him up. "So what exactly did his memories explain?" He was trying desperately to take all of this in stride and barely succeeding. Hel, he was still having trouble thinking of the dragon in front of him as a person, with a life and memories, maybe a family that was missing him. The whole thing was crazy.
Hiccup's eyes narrowed. "The details are still sort of fuzzy, but I can tell one thing very, very clearly: the dragons aren't attacking us because they need to. They're doing it because they have to."
